Wisconsin ATV Fatality Summary - Year 2005

Updated through February 8, 2006- 4:00PM

Speed/Trail Conditions/Chest and Head injuries.

Head & Internal Injuries

The victim traveled down an embankment after leaving a grass field and struck a tree at an unknown speed. The victim's machine struck a tree head-on causing the victim to strike the tree with her unprotected head.

Head Injuries/Alcohol/Speed

The victim drove past another ATV that was stopped on the side of the road (on coming lane of traffic) on the right side, lost control of the ATV and rolled several times, throwing both him and his passenger.

Alcohol / Trail Conditions

Internal Chest Trauma

The victim was a passenger seated on the front of the ATV. The operator was attempting to drive up a steep embankment when the ATV flipped backward and rolled on top of the operator and the two passengers in a drainage ditch.

Inexperience / Age / Head and Internal Injuries

The victims were following their father, who was driving a farm tractor with a chopper and chopper box, on an ATV. The victims traveled onto the road as if to cross it to a freshly hayed field across the way. Their view of the oncoming traffic was blocked by the tractor and wagon and were struck by a truck towing a horse trailer.

Internal Injuries / Speed

The victim was taken to the hospital after the accident and was released that same day. A few days later the victim was taken back to the hospital complaining that he was having a hard time breathing and passed away on 8/30/05 resulting from injuries received in the ATV incident on 8/26/05. **No BAC due to the victim passing away a few days after the incident.

Alcohol / Horseplay / Speed / Internal Injuries

The victim had been drinking earlier and was driving the ATV down a gravel township road doing fish-tails, lost control while entering the driveway and struck a tree.

Multiple head, neck, chest trauma / Speed

The victim was seated in front of the operator on the ATV. The operator let go of the handle bars for a brief moment and at that same time the victim applied the accelerator and pulled on one side of the handle bars tossing the operator off balance. The ATV went out of control tossing the operator and rolling over and onto the victim

Head and Neck Trauma / Alcohol

The victim was traveling down a road when he left the road and drove down a steep ravine where contact was made with a tree.

Head, Neck, Internal Injuries / Speed

The victim was riding along a trail on private property and did not negotiate a slight S curve. This resulted in the ATV's left tires leaving the trail and hitting a large dirt birm adjacent to the trail causing the ATV to go airborne, the victim was thrown off the ATV and struck the ground.

Speed / Trail conditions

The victim was riding his ATV on private property jumping it over a sand mound and down into a sand/gravel pit (approx. 15-20 feet down). The victim was going over the jump and when he landed he went over the handle bars. It appeared that the ATV landed on top of the victim and rolled over twice.

Speed / Inexperience

The victim was traveling at a high rate of speed on his ATV and was trying to negotiating a curve when the ATV left the roadway and traveled approximately 120' along the ditch before striking a clump of trees.

Alcohol / Head Trauma / Unfamiliar with trail.

The victim was riding his ATV on a trail the third in line in a group of 3. The victim went of the trail going down a steep embankment where he struck several trees.

Head Injuries / Speed

The victim was riding his ATV on a road that is designated as a ATV route with a pail of corn on the right hand side foot rest next to the foot brake lever. The victim lost his cap on the road and shortly after that left the roadway hitting the end of a culvert. The ATV went airborne, landed on one wheel, crossed a driveway and hit several old logs in the ditch and struck a tree.

Head & Internal Injuries / Inexperience

The victim was attempting to move the ATV out of a shed and the ATV was inadvertently engaged in reverse. It traveled over a pile of debris, a staircase and a utility trailer located directly behind the ATV that was in the shed. As the utility trailer was pinned between the ATV and the back wall of the shed, the ATV flipped over onto the victim.

Asphyxiation / Speed / Road Conditions

The victim was driving down a forest logging road and it appears that the victim's ATV left the road on a curve struck and embankment/stump and rolled over.

Pending

Incident is under investigation. The victim was out hunting with a neighbor, when the neighbor came back to the location where he had parked his ATV he found it was gone. When he got closer to the location that the ATV was left he observed the ATV in the pond along with the victim in the water.

Alcohol / Pending

Incident is under investigation. The victim had made a statement that he was riding his ATV across the lake to his residence on 12/11/05 and was reported missing on 12/12/05. A search of the lake revealed a helmet and upside down ATV floating in the lake and the victim was later found in that location by the dive team.

Drowning

The victim was last seen on 12/15/05 while unloading an ATV along Hwy. 105 and the Trail 2 intersection. After overdue at work on 12/19/05 a search of the area was initiated. On 12/20/05 a local snowmobile club working trail maintenance observed an overturned, snow covered ATV along the bank of a river. It appears the victim was crossing the river and attempting to climb the river bank when the ATV overturned and landed on him. The ATV and victim broke through the thinner ice located along shore and the victim was pinned under water.

Also Available:

• Final Fatality Summary Report for 2005 Season
• Final Fatality Summary Report for 2004 Season